The Pali word for “human” is “manussa.”
- The human realm is one of the 31 realms. It belongs to “kama loka” and lies between the four lowest realms (apayas) and the six Deva realms in the kama loka.
- It is a good idea to have a general understanding of the 31 realms: “31 Realms of Existence.”
Now, all those 31 realms are associated with any planet with life. Of course, modern science has not found any other planets with life outside the Earth. Even on Earth, they know only the human and animal realms.
- We generally use the term “alien” to describe intelligent life outside the Earth. Since scientists believe there can be life on other planets associated with other stars, they have been looking for signs of “alien life” and the possibility of aliens visiting Earth.
- By the way, the main reason scientists have not detected life outside Earth is the following: The nearest star with planets is four light years away. One light year is the distance traveled by light in a year. Look that up, and you will understand that a spaceship (with current technology) will take thousands of years to reach the nearest planet.
According to the Buddha, there are countless planets (cakkavala) with life. Each of those will have the same structure with 31 realms I described above.
- Therefore, if scientists find life outside the Solar system, those “aliens” may not be that different. However, their physical features are likely to be different because the size of the planet can significantly influence that.
What makes us human is our character/habits. For example, animals have very different character/habits and much lower intelligence. But those animals had been human and had cultivated “bad and animal-like character” that led to their birth as animals.
- That is a complex subject, but the basic ideas are in “The Law of Attraction, Habits, Character (Gati), and Cravings (Āsavas),”
“Habits, Goals, and Character (Gati),” and “Saṃsāric Habits and āsavā”.
